Packing or shipping box.



No. 744,405. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903. P. A. RENO.

PACKING OR SHIPPING BOX.-

APPLIOATION FILED 1030.20, 1902.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.v

7 llllllilillll No. 744,405. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

P. A. RENO.

PACKING OR SHIPPING BOX.

APPLIOATION TILED D110. 20, 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 17, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

PACKING OR SHIPPING BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 744,405, datedNovember 17, 1908.

Application filed December 20,1902. SerialNo. 136,002. (No model.)

To M6 ZUI'LOHZ/ it may concern.-

noldsville, in the county of Jelferson and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Packing or Shipping Box, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in packing or shipping boxes.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofpacking and shipping boxes and to provide a simple and'comparativelyinexpensive one of great strength and durability designed for thereception of all kinds of merchandise and adapted to be returned to theshipper in compact condition.

7 A further object of the invention is to provide a shipping or packingbox adapted to protect its contents from rats and mice and capable ofexcluding water and of being either knocked down or nested for storingor returning it.

horizontal sectional view of the same.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a shipping case or boxwhich will be braced and supported by the joints or seams and which willbe provided with bolts or similar fastening devices havingexteriorly-arranged heads and capable of being applied to the top orcover after the same has been placed in position for closing the box.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in the novelconstruction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described,illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed outin the claims hereto appended, it being understood that changes in theform, proportion, and mi-- nor details of construction within the scopeof the claims may be made without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a shipping case orbox constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view. Fig. at is a detail perspective view of thetop of the box. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail perspective views illustratingthe construction of the sides of the box. Fig. 7' is an enlarged detailvertical sectional view illustrating the manner of securing the top ofthe box to the sides. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of onecorner of the box.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

1 and 2 designate the sides of a shipping or packing box constructed ofmalleable sheet metal, such as steel or galvanized iron or the like, anddesigned as a substitute for wooden boxes or cases and to be returned tothe shipper to be used again. The sides 1 and 2 are slidably interlockedto enable the box to be knocked down or taken apart and compactlyarranged for storing or returning it, and the said side 1 is provided atits opposite vertical edges with approximately L-shaped flanges 3,formed by bending the said edges outward and then inward in a directionparallel with the plane of the side 1. The vertical edges of the side 2are bent to form approximately U- shaped flanges et,composed of sidesorportions 5 and 6 and a transverse connecting portion '7. The sideportions 5 extend outward at right angles to the side 2, and thetransverse portions 7 are arranged in planes parallel with the side 2,the side portions 6 of each flange 4 being arranged between thetransverse portion and the side 2 and terminating short of the latter toprovide a narrow space or entrance to receive the outwardly-extendingportion of the adjacent flange 3 of the side 1. The inwardlyextendingportion 8 of the flange 3 fits within the space or opening within theapproximately U shaped flange 4.- of the side 2 and is adapted to slideinto and out of the same, the flanges 3 and at being movedlongitudinally of each other to effect a separation or an assembling ofthe parts. By this construction the flanges are held against lateralmovement on each other and can be separated only by sliding themlongitudinally, as before explained.

When the slidably-connected interlocked flanges are connected, asillustrated in Figs. 2 and S of the accompanying drawings, solidreinforcing or bracing portions are provided at the corners of the box,which is sufficiently strengthened and supported by such construction toobviate the necessity of employing separate braces or cleats. Thevertical flanges 3 and 4 are provided with registering perforations 9and 10 for the reception of bolts 11 or other suitable fastening devicesfor securing the sides together; but when the box is constructed of verylight material and the goods or merchandise is also light thecorner-fastening devices may be omitted, as the top and bottom fasteningdevices hereinafter described will be sufficient to hold the parts inposition. The corner-bolts 11 have their nuts 12 arranged on theinterior of the box or case toprevent them from coming in contact withthe supporting-surface and other objects, and the heads of the bolts arepreferably rounded and provided with grooves for the reception of theblade of a screw-driver or other tool. The side 1 is provided in itsbody portion with perforations 13, which are alined with theperforations 9 for the reception of the corner-bolts, which pass throughthe four thicknesses of the material, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 8of thedrawings, whereby the corner-flanges are securely held togetherand are enabled to form corner braces 01- supports, and thereby obviatethe necessity of reinforcing the sheet metal by cleats or the like. Thesheet metal may be of any desired thickness-to adapt the box to thecharacter of goods for which it is intended, and the corner-bracesformed by the overlapped slidably-interlocked seams will effectuallyprevent the box from collapsing under any strain incident to its use.

.The top 14 and the bottom 15 of the box are constructed in the samemanner, and each is inwardly offset from the adjacent edges of the sides1 and 2 and is arranged within the box to provide spaces for thereception of the nuts 16 of the bolts 17 for securing the flanges 18 ofthe top and bottom to the sides 1 and 2. The flanges 18, which areapproximately U- shaped in cross-section, extend outward in verticalplanes from the top and bottom 14 and 15 and cap the end edges of thesides 1 and 2 at the top and bottom of the box, thereby reinforcing theprojecting side edges between the corner-seams. The inner sides of theflanges 18 are continuous and extend to the corners of the box,while theouter sides terminate short of the corners of the top and bottom toprovide corner-spaces 19 to clear the cornerseams of the body of thebox. Byinwardly offetting the top and bottom of the box from the upperand lower edges of the sides spaces for the nuts of the bolts are notonly provided, but the bolts are also enabled to be applied after thetop of the box has been placed in position. The upper and lower edges ofthe sides 1 and 2 are provided with perforations which register withcorresponding perforations of the U -shaped horizontal flanges 18 forthe reception of the top and bottom bolts. These flanges 18 are providedwith inner and outer vertical sides and a connecting portion, the

inner sides being arranged at the inner faces of the sides of the boxand the outer sides being located on the exterior of the same, asclearly indicated in Fig. 7 of the drawings. These top and bottom seams,which are located beyond the top and bottom portion of the box,reinforce the latter between the vertical corner-seams, thereby forminga frame or bracing around the top and bottom of the box. By reinforcingthe box at the upper and lower edges and at the corners the sheet metalis effectually prevented from collapsing'in any position in which thebox may be placed.

The box may be readily opened by removing the fastening devices at thetop thereof, and ready access may be had to the bolts and nuts for thispurpose. After the goods have been removed from the box the latter maybe compactly arranged for storing or returning to the shipper byseparating the sides and the bottom. Instead of separating the parts ofthe box for this purpose boxes may be constrncted of different sizes toenable them to be compactly nested.

It will be seen that the box, which is exceedingl y simple andinexpensive in construction, possesses great strength and durability andthat it is capable of effectually protecting its contents duringshipment'and storing from rats, mice, Water, and the like. It will alsobe apparent that the sheet-metal box, which is reinforced at the upperand lower edges and at the corners by solid braces, is prevented fromcollapsing and that these braces are formed by folding the edges of thesheet metal to provide seams for connecting the parts. Furthermore, itwill be clear that the corner-seams are composed of slidablyinterlockedflanges, which permit a ready separation of the parts to enable the boxto be compactly folded for storing or for returning it to the shipper.The sheet-metal box is adapted to subserve all the purposes of theordinary wooden box or crate, and it may be continuously used and is notinjured in opening it or closing it. 7

Any number of bolts may be employed at the seams of the shipping case orbox, and they may be painted, stained, or otherwise coated to preventthem from rusting.

What I claim is- A sheet-metal packing or shipping box com prising sides1 and 2, the side 1 being provided with exteriorly arranged L shapedflanges having outer portions arranged in a plane parallel with the side1, and the side 2 being provided with approximately U shaped flangesarranged at right angles to the side 2 and having inner portionsterminating short of the same to provide spaces for the L-shapedflanges, said flanges being slidably interlocked and forming solidcorner-braces, and the top and bottom fitted within the sides andprovided with outwardly-extending approximately U shaped flanges fittingover the IIO my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

PERRY ALLEN RENO.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. BECK IRA 8. SMITH.

